Results / Volvo Noble Marine National Championships Mounts Bay SC - 20/08/2017

Photos: Alex Irwin, Sportography.tv

Day 1

There are two ways of making the day feel breezier than it really is; the first is to add rain, the second is to throw in a big seaway and for the opening day of the RS400 Nationals in Mounts Bay we had both.

The forecast suggested high teens to low twenty knots from the South with rain throughout the day. The rain bit was spot on while the breeze only nudged 20 at its peak. But it was the waves that really spiced things up.

With 74 boats entered the first gate start was an interesting affair.  There was plenty of space for all to start yet the best laid plans of many in finding a spot along the line and then hanging onto it until the pathfinder crossed went out of the window when the fleet discovered how hard it was to manage boat speed in the big waves that were sweeping across the course.

When the fleet did get underway, all eyes were then focussed on remembering how to sail in big waves and how to stay in the boat through the tacks.

Unfortunately, for those that had been here at the last Nationals three years ago, the scars of ‘Big Wednesday’, when huge seas and a steady breeze well into the high twenties caused carnage came back to haunt.

Yet even though no such conditions were in store this time, it was difficult not to worry about what might happen next.

For those that could blot 2014 out of their minds the racing was exciting and full on, especially downwind where kite trim played second fiddle to surfing.

The usual suspects were among those surging to the front of the fleet with Keith Bedborough and Mike Simms taking the first win of the day.

Behind them Josh Metcalf and Jack Holden took second, while Francisco and Teresa Lobato took third.

But race 1 had taken a heavy toll and a number of boats retired with broken gear.

The second race promised more of the same and according to the forecast, possibly more wind - in fact, the opposite happened.

The breeze dropped as it swung right and the rain stopped, momentarily.

When racing did get under way the breeze was only in the low teens yet the sea state was still there. And with the big right hand shift the upwind legs became asymmetric. Starboard tack provided a head banging punch upwind into the steep waves, while port tack delivered a cruise across the waves – it was hard to figure out which way was best.

But when it came to the downwind slide it was surf city once again.

In this race it was Jon Gorringe and Oli Wells that took the win with Francisco and Teresa Lobato taking second.

Given Francisco’s former success in the Mini Transat, culminating in an overall win in 2009, perhaps it was no surprise that a man used to pushing tiny overpowered boats downwind in big waves had the biggest smile in the fleet and a scoreline to match.

After two races the leader board has three teams on equal points, Gorring/Wells, Simms/Bedborough and the Lobato duo, a perfect start to what promises to be a hotly contested Nationals.

The forecast for Day 2 suggests a big change with light winds, but still with that lumpy sea state.

Day 2

Mounts Bay changed gear for Day 2 of the RS400 Nationals. Gone was the large swell and stiff breeze to be replaced by flat water and 6-8 knots of wind. For those that had felt battered by the conditions on the opening day and particularly those that had fed the fishes during racing, Monday brought blessed relief.

But not everyone was feeling it.

A large right hand shift shortly after the start of the first race turned the fleet inside out, handing the advantage to those who gambled everything on timing and had started at the far end of the gate start. Those that had started early, confident in being able to out run the pathfinder were given a rare shot of what most of us see, namely the rest of the fleet in front.
In fact, as the pack came together at the top mark it was disorientating to see some of the big dogs so far back and if it hadn’t been the first leg, many of us would have thought we’d been lapped.
But having swung to the right the breeze then stayed there long enough for the fleet to partially re-arrange itself.
Among those who came out on top after three laps of gentle behaviour on the helm and careful wind spotting by the crew, Stewart and Sarah Robertson scored a bullet with Dave Exley and Mark Lunn taking second and Alex Berry and Richard Leonard in third.

Race 2 delivered more of the same, albeit in slightly less breeze.
This time a left hand shift, as predicted in the forecast, offered the opportunity to start early, perfectly logical thought Paul and Mark Oakey. But when the pathfinder set off they discovered that few felt the same as they headed off on starboard tack with no one around them.
A few minutes later they tacked onto port to consolidate their position only to cross pretty much the entire fleet, demonstrating the value of both reading and remembering the day’s forecast.
But crossing a Nationals fleet that includes many talented sailors, on port, on the first leg, just seems to wind them up and increase their resolve. So while the Oakeys finished this race in 3rd, it was the Irish duo Berry/Leonard that took the win with Jon Gorringe and Oli Wells in second.

After the racing, Olympic coach and 400 competitor Russell Clark hosted a well attended race forum that focussed on heavy weather sailing. Given the broad spectrum of sailors that turned up, from the top dogs to Nationals newcomers, everyone it seemed had either looked at the forecast for the rest of the week, or simply wanted to listen to and share their experiences. Either way, the session was well received and valuable for all.

But the true competition for many didn’t start until the boats were ashore and the sun went down as the evening’s games got under way. Being able to blow up and burst a balloon with your buttocks is a skill that should not be underestimated, as is the ability to use the same part of your anatomy to drop coins into a pot. There are some in the fleet that show true talent in these and other demanding fringe sports.

As the beer and wine flowed there was also mounting gossip around the possible nominees for the prestigious daily Duckhams award, presented to those who have made an amusing contribution to the day at their own expense.
Yesterday’s were mainly focussed on feeding the fish and trimming at the same time.
Today’s included the crew who had decided to re-rig their mainsheet on the water only to drop it out of the back of the boat and the helm who, having rigged the boat alone and then spent several minutes alone, waist deep in the water holding the bow as he waited for his crew, had failed to notice that he hadn’t tied the tack of the kite onto the bowsprit.

Day 3 promises more breeze and waves and no doubt an invitation for Mr Cock up to return once again.

Day 3

When sailors come ashore not caring about their result it’s usually because the day has been a shocker. But Day 3 in Mounts Bay was very different. This was a day to remember for all the right reasons.

A 15-18 knot breeze, bright sunshine, moderate waves and perfect courses delivered a day of racing that many rated as the best of the season and possibly more. After four hours afloat the fleet was left buzzing.

But there was one particular element that was the talk of the slipway as the boats were hauled up - dolphins.

In the second race a pod of 10 or more chose to hang out on the port layline to the windward mark, guiding anyone who took their advice towards a perfect rounding. As they darted under the bow and leapt out of the water on either side less than a metre away, the sight was utterly mesmerising. Fortunately the pod chose to appear on the second and third laps of the second race when the traffic was more spread out, justifying their reputation for being smart. Had it happened at the first mark rounding when the fleet was still bunched up who knows what chaos would have ensued as crews started feeding back all kinds of unconventional verbal gibberish to their helms. “Oh my God,” is usually an expression reserved for a different set of circumstances that lead seconds later to a swim. Here it was commonplace.

But in any a pack there’s always a rogue, even among dolphins. Barging at the weather mark with no overlap inside two boat lengths is simply not on whether you’re a fish or not. Some even missed out the spreader mark and cut the corner to ride on the quarter waves downhill – the cheek of it.

The first race had been a tricky one for pretty much everyone who hadn’t started seconds after the gate had opened.

A left hand shift during the start saw the pathfinder, Francisco and Teresa Lobato lifted on port, away from the bulk of the fleet who had politely set themselves back from the proposed start line. Bearing away to gather speed wasn’t really an option unless you wanted to reach back down the line to where the Lobatos had come from.

The result? Plenty of space to leeward of the pathfinder along with plenty of red faces, gritted teeth and another pack of 74x400s that had some big names mixed into the middle of the fleet.

When it came to stand out performances throughout the day there are a few to mention starting with Jon Gorringe and Oli Wells who scored a couple of bullets to extend their lead in the overall series.

The first race saw their lead unchallenged from the start while the second was trickier apparently, but with the same final result.

So what was their key to success?

“We started early to get to the wind convergence off the south east side of the Mount,” explained Oli. “In a south-easterly the form guide says that there will be more pressure there which should justify not going offshore. As it turned out there was, just. So for us the left hand side of the course was always favoured, upwind and down.“

The second boat that drew attention as that of Alex Barry and Richard Leonard who once again threw themselves into the mix despite looking lighter than the Oakeys. Few, including the Oakeys, thought this was possible, and even fewer reckoned it was a combination for breezy conditions. But with a 4th and an 11th on the board after today, clearly it is.

Then comes the team of the day, John Downey and Sandy Rimmington sailing 522.

They finished 10^th in the first race, an impressive performance for an old boat. That made them pathfinders in the second race and to prove that their first result had been no fluke they went on to finish 4^th in the second.

Not only is this a superb performance for an old boat, but their efforts have increased the value of the entire secondhand fleet overnight while leaving those of us who have made flimsy cases at home for investing in a new boat feeling rather exposed.

Nevertheless, in the highly undemocratic system of nominating a team of the day within the daily report and my jury of one, they get it.

Well done to all who walked away with the daily prizes, but for many today wasn’t really about results. And for one man the day marked a turning point, he hoped.

“After the weather we have been dealt for some of this year’s events we are owed a good Nationals from him upstairs. I’m certain that this is the first day of a run we’re going to remember,” said class captain Max Tosetti who admitted that his direct communication with the Almighty’s weather department has been down for much of this season.

In fact, so good was today that word is going around that maybe it’s time to introduce a new rule in the class that bans racing in under 15 knots and sunshine. As a super extra-medium proportioned, curry munching sailor, it gets my vote.

Day 4

Wednesday, day 4 was a waiting game.

Although the fleet had departed the beach promptly at around 1100am and sailed out to the south in preparation for a couple of races in the forecasted 15knts of breeze, the reality was that the real weather was going to throw a few curved balls into the mix. This was not a day to be a race officer.

With the breeze coming in from the west and over some high ground on its route to the bay, the indications were that while the strength might be consistent, the direction would be anything but.

For those that like looking at clouds and discussing why they were there and what they would do to the weather, today was the sailor’s equivalent of a train spotter’s holiday at the National Railway Museum in York – there was simply too much to look at in just one day.

As we stared upwind to the west there were lines of cumulus clouds streaming off the hill tops, their tails extending across the race course. Like a giant streaming flag, their angle to the course area provided a giant marker as to the direction of the gradient wind which was 20 degrees around to the right from the breeze we were feeling on the water’s surface. That breeze was the result of the thermal air generated on shore being dumped on top of us as it extended out to sea.

But thermals don’t last forever and as they switched off the gradient breeze took over, increasing the wind speed and shifting it right in the process.

When the skies cleared the thermals took over once again and lifted the gradient breeze off the water, swinging it 20 degrees back the other way.

And so the process went on for the next couple of hours.

As it did so the mark laying boats ran back and forth at the top of the course trying to keep up with the oscillating breeze.

“We were seeing 50 degree changes in direction at the windward mark,” said race officer Marcus Wilkinson. “We thought about moving the course further to the east but the ground is difficult there and we’ve already lost two anchors this week.”

So, as the breeze danced around from left to right, the fleet was left to entertain itself as it waited for more stable conditions.

Bored with trawling back and forth across the start line area, one team wandered way off upwind and discovered the dolphins that had caused so much excitement yesterday at the top of the course. Apparently they were common dolphins, although no one ever got to speak to them so this can’t be confirmed.

When the first race did get underway going left was the key and the big guns were all there to take advantage.

Leading the charge once again was Jon Gorringe and Oli Wells who turned on their afterburners on the first beat to take yet another win. Francisco and Teresa Lobato took second while last year’s National champions Paul and Mark Oakey took third.

In race two the thermal activity had been dampened by some building high cloud which left the gradient breeze in charge for the rest of the day, albeit a modest 8-10knots.

For those of us in the extra medium, displacement mode department, this and a horrible sloppy sea state made life particularly tricky upwind. Keeping the boat moving was taxing.

But, the Oakeys had a different issue from the start.

Squeezed out by several boats on the line Paul and Mark found themselves in the unusual position of looking at a wall of transoms to windward. Their solution was to tack onto port and head out to clear air. The problem was that they were on the left of the line and the clear air well over on the right.

“We tacked and headed over and kept looking at possible gaps as we took transom after transom but we just couldn’t see a gap that we liked,” said Paul. “We ended up on the far right hand side of the course having dipped everyone. But as we emerged we were headed, tacked on the shift and arrived at the windward mark in third.”

From there the self confessed flyweights took no time in grabbing the lead on the downwind leg and never gave it back.

Behind them it was the Portuguese Lobato pair who took second once again, an impressive double whammy on a day that seen mixed fortunes throughout the fleet. And for my undemocratically voted team of the day, they get the call.

Behind them it was Alex Barry and Richard Leonard who took third.

With just two more races to go it’s Gorringe/Wells who lead overall followed by the Lobatos and then Barry/Leonard.

But while the lead pack fight it out, for many the day was one of mixed fortunes and hard knocks, most of which could only be solved with beer.

And when it comes to Duckhams behaviour, sailing over another boat’s main halyard on the way in just yards from the beach and managing to get it wrapped around their centreboard so tight it capsized them faster than they could say ‘spectra’, is a stunt I’ve not seen before. Nice work.

Day 5

The best assets for the final day’s racing at Mounts Bay were; thick skin and sense of humour.

If some of us had come off the water on Wednesday thinking we knew a bit more about the local weather conditions, Thursday threw some additional variables into the mix to stir things up once again.

On the face of it, the weather for the final day’s racing looked similar to that of the day before where the regular development of thermals over the land would toy with the gradient breeze, cycling it in strength and direction. But as it turned out the key difference was that the gradient breeze was a lot lighter, allowing the cumulus clouds to meander over the course area, randomly dropping their breeze at will.

As a result, dancing around the flat spots became the trick of the day.

This was evident right from the start when a wind shift caused the pathfinder to be headed so quickly that several of us were caught on the wrong side of the line. Panic ensued.

Eventually, when the fleet was away the racing settled down but there was already a big spread in the fleet, the front runners off and away.

For those of us left trailing behind there was still cause for hope given that there were as many ladders as there were snakes on the course which offered opportunities to get back into the pack.

But as is so often the case, the front of the fleet proved better at avoided the snakes and the greasy poles, increasing their lead by the minute.

Here, the battle was between Paul Hilliar and Matt Bailey, Francisco and Teresa Lobato, Howard Farbrother and Louise Hoskins, three crews battling it out for the three spots. And by the end of the three lap race this was their finishing order.

Although the overall series leaders Jon Gorringe and Oli Wells had a comfortable lead going into the final day their latest result of a 7^th meant they now had to count a 6^th from a previous race. Many of us would happily pay a considerable sum to add such a cast off to our scoreline, but when you’re looking at the overall silverware such a big number is untidy and unwelcome.

So come the second race of the day and the final race of the series, the pressure had come back on for Gorringe and Wells. To add to the heat the breeze had already showed signs of going a little weird as it started to drop.

“We had noticed a ship in the bay starting to swing on her anchor, indicating the start of a sea breeze coming in from offshore,” said race officer Marcus Wilkinson. “We had shortened the course and were considering whether it would be necessary to abandon the race.”

As it turned out he didn’t need to as those challenging for the top slots were already onto it.

So as a giant hole opened up in the middle of the course as a trap for the bulk of the fleet, the usual suspects had seen the breeze heading in from the distance and had got themselves into it. Minutes later Goringe and Wells took another win with the Oakeys in second and the Lobatos in third.

The impressive final performance had sealed the overall win for Goringe and Wells while the Lobatos took second and Paul Hilliar and Matt Bailey finished third.

For the rest of the fleet the cranky weather had shuffled the pack so thoroughly few knew how they would fare overall. Some didn’t care, some were still trying to figure out what had happened, while others were now focussing on where they had left their ‘onesie’ for the final night’s social and prize giving.

As the dinosaurs, unicorns, sheep and baby romper suits turned up in the club it was clear once again that a party was the answer.

So as the talk of dolphins, big waves, big breeze, big shifts and surprisingly large numbers on the scoreboard for some of the top dogs flowed, it was clear that a thick skin, a sense of humour and the ability to drink the bar dry were skills that everyone had in equal measure.

Matthew Sheahan